Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for one of the most exciting and hotly-anticipated seasons of his glittering F1 career in 2025, and he will do so as a member of the exclusive ‘forties club’ after celebrating his 40th birthday on January 7th.
The 2025 campaign brings with it a new beginning for Hamilton, who swapped Mercedes for Ferrari after over a decade with the Brackley-based squad. The move has ignited intense debate off the back of the Brit’s toughest season to date.
With F1’s most successful driver now 40 years old, Express Sport takes a look at what the future may hold for Hamilton as he embarks on a new chapter of his career.
Retirement plans
While Fernando Alonso is still going strong aged 43, most F1 stars depart the sport at the height of their powers in their mid-to-late thirties. Fellow champions Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg all quit the series before celebrating their 40th birthdays, but Hamilton is showing no signs of slowing down.
In an interview with Esquire in 2024, Hamilton revealed that he has an idea about when he will call time on his F1 career. “I want to make sure I really max it out while I can and fully enjoy this sport I’ve done my whole life,” he explained.
“There are so many people that have finished their careers early, and I’ve spoken to many who’ve said they wish they could have just done one more year or two. And they’re like, ‘Stay in as long as you can!’ But I don’t want to do it if I’m not good.
“So it’s like, how much do you want to train? When you’re 22, it’s so easy to work out and be fit. There’s no recovery, and you’ve got nothing else going on, no other stresses, no real responsibilities except for that one thing to go and kill.
“Now it’s: How can you stay sharp and be able to do all those things you have going on and still be able to compete with those young guys in their twenties?”
Ferrari fears
While Ferrari fans struggled to contain their excitement after Hamilton’s move to the Scuderia was confirmed, some pundits have raised concerns about the Brit’s performances as he prepares to face up against Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton’s qualifying performances have been central to the scrutiny. In 2024, the seven-time world champion was out-qualified 19-5 by team-mate George Russell, and it wasn’t uncommon to see the F1 icon eliminated in Q1.
This will need to change if he is to take the fight to Leclerc in 2025. Ferrari believe they have a shot at fighting for both titles this season and losing out on an eighth World Championship to a new team-mate would be an agonising way for Hamilton’s F1 career to peter out.
Toto Wolff’s well wishes
Hamilton arrives in Maranello with plenty of noise and speculation surrounding him, but he at least has the support of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who offered a heartwarming farewell message to the Brit after his final race for the team in Abu Dhabi.
After Hamilton snatched P4 away from team-mate Russell on the final lap, the Mercedes chief dialled into the team radio and said: “If we can’t win, you should win.”
He later added: “The name Lewis Hamilton will stand for a long time as the greatest. I will be telling my grandchildren to be proud because I was part of Lewis Hamilton’s journey. And that’s something we all can be very proud of.
“For [however] many years you’ve been here, whether it was a month or 12 years like I have been, I think Niki [Lauda] would have taken his cap up, because this journey with you, we need to all pinch ourselves that we were part of your journey with Mercedes.”
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